For the lesser good
by tibetisnotincanberra
Summary: PC's focus on the greater good. Ending tyranny, saving princesses and slaughtering viscous beasts. But who looks after the little guy? Davlin Silver, Human Bard, abandons his party in the final battle of a campaign in the hopes of being the answer.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a decent length fanfic, so any feedback is appreciated._

 _I hope you enjoy what I create_

He had just about all he could take. No more trans-planar dinosaurs, no more evil cults, no more conspiracies and, most importantly, no more (un)natural disasters.

Despite supposedly being the intelligent, level-headed one of the group, Davlin himself had started the last two fights. The Bard of the group, one who strived to earn the title 'diplomancer', had drawn his sword first. He'd been getting sick of the way his companions acted that he just wanted the city liberated.

While clearing a garrison to overthrow the aforementioned evil cult then realized…he'd put people in danger just to get something done faster? _Typical arrogant PC behaviour_ …so he left. No word to his companion, he just blended into the fleeing refugees and left.

Some recognized him (how could they not? He hadn't a chance to clean off the blood and monster guts), but after a quick **Travellers Chant** they kept quiet.

After setting up for the evening, the group of travellers gathered around the fireplace. Some ate, some slept, Davlin wrote in a large tomb.

"What's that?" asked one of the children.

"It's not polite to ask" chided her father, but Davlin shook his head.

"No, that's okay" he said to the father before turning to the girl "This is my journal. I keep a record of things I've done, things I've seen and things that I want to do. It's also where I keep my stories."

"Why is it so fancy?"

"My journal is fancy?" asked Davlin, a little crestfallen that she didn't ask for a story.

"Yep." Replied the girl and pointed at the cover "This one's all shiny. Your other book is really boring"

"Yes, it is." answered Davlin "I've had this book a very long time. My spellbook is fairly new."

"You're a wizard!" exclaimed a nearby boy, but the girl ignored him and pressed on.

"Why is it so fancy? Are you rich?"

"Emma!" called the father again, but Davlin laughed.

"Actually I've never had much gold. I was a silversmith. The book is a kind of graduation test. They give you a single silver coin and you have to work it into something respectable. Some made rings, others made sculptures, I made silver leaf and used it to emboss this book."

"It's pretty…is it worth lots?" asked Emma

"Not really" shrugged Davlin "Remember, it's only 1 silver. I probably couldn't even get that, but even if it was worth its weight in platinum, I probably wouldn't sell it.

"Why not?"

"It's not just a book any more. It's a part of my life. The parts that are worth remembering" said Davlin _and some I wish I could forget_. He glanced briefly at the ash cloud from the nearby volcano, Mount Brobdingnagian, then closed the book and showed her the mostly blank spine "See that there's no silver here?"

Emma nodded and Davlin continued "These are a record of what I've done on my travels. This scroll is the symbol of Oghma, The Lord of Knowledge, leader of the Deities of Knowledge and Invention"

Emma pouted at this "Now you're making fun of me. Everyone knows Ioun is the God of Knowledge."

"Ioun is _your_ God of knowledge" warned Davlin "Your city's high priest showed me that the two are quite different. He certainly wouldn't get far into the House of Knowledge."

Emma looked confused, so Davlin turned over his journal and recited the passage on its back cover.

 _Knowledge, particularly the raw knowledge of ideas, is supreme. An idea has no weight, but it can move mountains. The greatest gift of humankind, an idea outweighs anything made by mortal hands. Knowledge is power and must be used with care, but hiding it away from others is never a good thing. Stifle no new ideas, no matter how false and crazed they seem; rather, let them be heard and considered. Never slay a singer, nor stand by as others do so. Spread knowledge wherever it is prudent to do so. Curb and deny falsehoods, rumor, and deceitful tales whenever you encounter them. Write or copy lore of great value at least once a year and give it away. Sponsor and teach bards, scribes, and record keepers. Spread truth and knowledge so that all folk know more. Never deliver a message falsely or incompletely. Teach reading and writing to those who ask (if your time permits), and charge no fee for the teaching._

Davlin paused to allow what he had said to sink in before adding "It was those words that led me to becoming a Bard."

"Does that mean you'll teach me Elven?" Emma asked hopefully.

Davlin laughed "Just because I'm a Bard doesn't mean I can speak Elven."

Emma pouted again "Yes you do. I've seen you do it".

 _I guess an adventurer draws attention no matter what they're doing_ thought Davlin, recalling some bartering he'd undertaken with an elven trader when he'd arrived.

"Yes, I did. But that was magic. A ritual known as **Comprehend Language** – It's in my other book" Davlin then got it out to show her.

Emma studied it for a few seconds and then pointed at a few words near the start "These don't look like they belong here."

 _The kid has an affinity for magic..._ Davlin nodded "You're right. They're actually my own modification of the ritual. When you cast it, you can read any language you've seen, and understand what's said of any language you've heard in the last 24 hours. What you're looking at is some words in Elven, Draconic, and Dwarven."

"What do they say?" asked Emma.

"Good question. I wrote down words that made sense for the races that spoke them. The Elven says 'Grace', the Dwarven says 'Fortitude' and the Draconic says 'bloodied fist'".

"Why bloodied fist?"

"It was the name of a friend of mine – a Dragonborn barbarian. He's still in the city."

"Why aren't you with him? Are you scared?"

Davlin paused to think "…Sort of, but not really."

"Typical adventurer, leaving everyone else to clean up your mess" scoffed a nearby Eladrin.

"I do what needs to be done" said Davlin quietly.

"Then what are you doing here?" demanded the Eladrin

"Helping get those who don't wish to fight out of the area" Davlin replied waving his last **Scroll of Travellers Chant**. Fortunately he hadn't needed to use it today. The DM had ruled that he could use **Bardic Training** to make scrolls if he hadn't expended the free ritual it gave. His current stockpile consisted of 6 **Lullaby** 's, a **Travelers Chant** , 2 **Glib Limericks** , and a **Hand of Fate** ; something he'd acquired as a reward for the end of his first adventure, and he truly hoped he never was in a situation where it was worth using.

"Why, I bet I could take you in a fight, unarmed and single handed" boasted the Eladrin.

Davlin narrowed his eyes for a moment and took an **Insight** **Check**.

 _Unarmed In a fight means he's probably a magic user…yep. Wizard_ , _Paragon tier. He doesn't care about the scroll, but he's eyeing my sword and I'm wearing chainmail so he knows I'm not a Wizard. Likely he can't tell if I know magic, but since I'm not a Wizard, he's confident he could take me no matter what. Not really a good match for me with their high Will Saves…_

Davlin just shrugged "Maybe".

The Eladrin seemed perturbed. "Maybe _?_ Well, _maybe_ I'll have to find out for myself".

Davlin sighed "Not interested" he said.

"You sure?" whispered a gnome who had suddenly appeared next to Davlin _I hate it when they do that_ "Lots of interested people. I'll give you a cut either way…"

That changed things. Davlin couldn't rely on an Adventurer's income anymore so he'd have to take gold where he can get it. "You're on. Rules?"

The Eladrin smirked, "One on one, anything goes short of death. I'll have nothing more than this" motioning his ornate robes before adding "tomorrow evening"

"Sounds good" Davlid replied, triggering an **Insight** **Check** , whichhe had again passed with ease; _he's glad he got to set the time. Only just realized he's out of spell for today_. _Do I need a bluff check to conceal laughter?_...Fortunately, the answer was no.

"I look forward to it" remarked the Eladrin before walking away.

"He's mean." Said Emma.

"Seems that way" replied Davlin.

"Are you gonna beat him up?"

"Probably not."

"Why not?"

"Because he's stronger than me"

"Don't be so sure…" said the gnome again causing them both to jump _sneaky little bastard…_ "He did say anything goes and I might be willing to help you…even the odds?"

"What did you have in mind?"

The gnome shrugged and lay back on the ground with his hands behind his head "Not really an ideas person, but if you've got anything…"

Davlin stared into the fire. _There's too much of a power difference between me and a Paragon. He's got better attack, defence, bigger spells, more spells…_ "Yeah, actually. I do…"

 **Notes**

Davlin is a level 6 4e Bard that I used in a friends campaign. This is actually the point at which I had to leave the group to pursue work and that was pretty much the in-game reason I gave for Davlin's departure. We had a few differences in the rules which may not comply with RAW. I'll try to note it as they come up.

Bardic Training: Bard spells aren't useful every session so my DM was kind enough to let me burn my free ritual as a scroll if I hadn't used it by the end of the day. It gave me some more flexibility, and didn't really affect my gold since we had to roleplay/barter at stores and it was hard to convince a clerk to take more than 1 or 2 scrolls. Meant that I could pass along a Glib Limerick or Lullaby if we got separated too.

Comprehend Languages: The spell description just says you have to have seen or heard it in the last 24 hours, so I included some words written in languages I'd come across and how to pronounce them where I could. It increases it's utility by letting me cast in advance of meeting someone, but I still can't speak/write in it without passing the check. That'd be a 13 or higher at current level alone or a 5 if my whole party passed their aid another check, which is unlikely.

Hypothetically, I could have included phonetics of words at the end but that was pushing the rules a bit much. A **Magic Mouth** would feel a lot less like cheating, especially if I made the triggering condition that I attempt the ritual, but it has a high initial/maintenance cost so it was shelved until my gold situation improved.

Davlin's Spellbook: Bards don't need to prepare spells, so why does Davlin have a **spellbook**? I could say that it's just a **ritual book** , which Bards do have, but it's actually because he's **Multiclassed**. I argued that the **Spellbook** is actually a piece of equipment so if I was a **Wizard** and could acquire one then I should be able to cast them. He agreed, and even agreed that my existing **ritual book** could double as a **Spellbook** under the conditions that;

1) I only get access to spells that go in the spellbook ie. Daily spells

2) I can't get cantrips (I tried to swap the level 1 at-will as encounter with prestidigitation but in 4e it's a class feature not a level 0 spell... )

3) I didn't get spells from leveling

I needed to negotiate for or purchase spells; This was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. The fair price he set for spells was a Wand of that level and the groups Wizard was unwilling to share his spells. I actually ended up stealing his book to copy _Acid Arrow_ and "forgot" to give it back until the next day.

 **Multiclassing** will come up again because it seemed my best option for **Feats**.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day had been uneventful but full of chatter with a lot of people were looking forward to the fight. It wasn't that often when Commoners got to see magical combat in a situation that wasn't life threatening. They'd pushed to reach the next town but even with the **Travellers Chant** , dusk would greet them before they came across the next town. Rather than press on until dark, they set up camp early to allow everyone plenty of time to settle in for the fight.

A rudimentary ring stood 5 squares apart around the two combatants; It wasn't so much a boundary as it was a minimum safe distance for spectators. As promised, the Eladrin had nothing more than the clothes on his back.

"I'm feeling merciful today" said the Eladrin, "If you want to back out, I'll understand".

 _And give up on a payday? Not a change._ "Nah, I'm good" _I hope this trick works…_

The Eladrin shrugged and got into his fighting stance, while Davlin drew his sword and wand.

A human at the front of the crowd hand in the air "On my mark, 3..2..1…" then the trill of the whistle went through the air and the fight was on.

Davlin cursed under his breath. He'd lost **Initiative**. _With a +3, what else did I expect?_

"Might as well give our fans a show" remarked the Eladrin and went to cast **Mirror Image**...but rather than the expected illusory duplicate, his hands just fizzled. The Eladrin looked confused and attempts an **Arcana** C **heck** , all the **Natural 1** gave him was a headache and a -1 penalty to **Will**.

 _Well that's a good start_. "Quite the fireworks you've got there. Do you do kids parties?" but sadly Davlin's **Viscous Mockery** fell on deaf ears as he moved into melee range.

The Eladrin seemed to panic as Davlin approached; Wizards did not do melee combat. " **THUNDERLANCE!** _"_ he screamed, throwing Davlin back 4 squares and knocking off almost half of Davlin's health.

Davlin muttered a quick **Majestic Word** , which between health and temp health negated most of the damage. He then took crack at **Insight** , but failed the opposed check and opted for another crack at **Viscous Mockery** "Don't care for my blade? I polished it just for you" but again it failed. He was about to end turn when he recalled that **the DM** had ruled **Total Defence Action** and minor used it.

Not content with the distance between himself and Davlin, the Eladrin threw out a _Spectral Ram_ , which clashed into Davlin head on, knocking him prone and back 3 squares. He then took a leaf from Davlin's book and also took a **Total Defence Action**. It was safe to say that they were both planning on using that whenever the opportunity arose.

 _Two rounds in and I'm already getting hammered_ Davlin thought as he expended his remaining **Majestic Word** , putting him back to full health with a respectable amount of temp health. _No point saving it for later. A lucky crit could take me._ "Big on personal space aren't you?" but again, _Viscous Mockery_ was of no use.

Being prone reduced the changes of being hit by ranged, so the Eladrin fell back on a favourite of Wizards everywhere; **Fireball**. He conjured a small ball of flame in his palm and flung it forward, only to have it immediately go up in a puff of smoke. Clearly there was something else in play here, the Wizard tried again with an **Arcana Check** to **Detect Magic**. There was most certainly something in play here but it felt...wrong. Like there was something other than combat magics at work.

Davlin started humming a Dwarven war song to act as a **Song of Courage** and tried again with the **Mockery** _._ "Behold the wizard; full of sound and fury, yet yielding nothing". Davlin almost cheered aloud; one had finally gotten through, as a **Natural 20** no less! Satisfied with that for now, he takes a defensive stance.

 _I need to dispel this thrice damned magic_. The Eladrin began the motions of **Dispel Magic** only for it too to fail. Cursed the Eladrin silently and took another **Arcana Check** to detect… Secret Page rituals?

 _That makes no sense…_ the Eladrin thought, and decided to forego the protections of a **Total Defence ACtion** for an Arcane knowledge check. He was rewarded with a natural 20 and a look of comprehension grew on his face.

 _Ah, my spellbook. He's used Secret Page over my spells, so I've prepared them wrong. It'll be difficult, but I should be able to reshape their magic on the fly_. "Not bad for a Bard, but that won't stop me".

 _He's found my trick and I've underestimated his defences_ "Are you sure about that? I've stopped you pretty well so far". He'd missed once again. The level difference was really hampering his progress. _I suppose it's hard to mock someone when you're face down in the dirt…_

"Maybe I've been trying too hard to put on a show. Sometimes, simple is best. **ACID ARROW** _!_ " retorted the wizard as a sickly green arrow flew into Davlin's back. _I should end this, now_. He then spent an action point and waved his **Burning Hands** at Davlin.

Davlin succumbed the ongoing damage of the acid arrow and magical fires of a **Blood Action** , but was saved by Fate with a **Natural 20** on his death saving throw. On only 1 HP, Davlin attempts to throw off the ongoing damage with the twin tones of **Dissonant Strain** but failed. He then mutters a quick **Ode to Sacrifice** and with the subsequent **Save** throws off the blood magics. "Courage" he says aloud, allowing the **Inspiring Word** to restore him somewhat before throwing out an **Eyebite**. He heaves a sigh of relief as the natural 20 pushes Davlin out of the visible and even dealing a respectable amount of damage.

"A Warlock spell? Well aren't you full of surprises…" says the Eladrin to the empty air, taking the brief respite to have his **Second Wind** and the recover some of the damage Davlin inflicted.

The acid burrowed into Davlin's skin. He converted all his actions into minors, muttered an **Insipiring Word** , followed by a **Healing Word** , and then tookhis **Second Wind** to put himself back on full health. He smirked, two turns and he was back from the brink of death. Davlin then activated his **Harp of Inevitable Continuance** to maintain his invisibility.

"Hiding Bard? There's no escaping the inevitable" but the wizard was still concerned, and took up a defensive stance.

Davlin snuck into melee range and threw out his **Song of Discord**. While the **Domination** didn't take, the **Effect** did and the Wizard promptly shot himself in the foot with a **Magic** **Missle** , landing a crit on himself. Seizing the advantage offered by the triggered **Attack of Opportunity** from firing while in melee, Davlin swung his sword, but missed and readied his _Resistance Cloak_.

The Eladrin whirled himself into a **Fey Step** and blasted Davlin with **Icy Rays**. The cloak shielded a portion of the damage, but he was still immobilized.

Davlin flinched and coughed. The wizard smirked, but it faded as soon as the contested _Bluff_ check appeared. "GOTCHA!" yelled Davlin with a **Stirring Shout** , finally bloodying the Eladrin.

 _Bloodied? This pathetic Bard bloodied ME?!_ He fired off **Soul Burn** to make it seem like a close burst, but Davlin wasn't fooled by the **Bluff**. " **THUNDERLANCE**!" he screamed again as the crack was heard off Davlins chest, spraying blood and again pushing him.

"Strength" whispered Davlin, triggering another **Healing Word** before throwing out a **Freezing Cloud**. While the Wizard dodged the full force of the blast, he was still damaged which achieved Davlin's real goal; he felt the second rush of healing magic has his bleeding stopped once again and he braced himself for another strike.

Again the Wizard dodged the brunt of the **Freezing Cloud** , but the buffet of ice triggered another wave of healing magic from **Stirring Shout**. He took a calculated risk of an **Insight Check** and it paid off.

 _Oh very clever. If I stay near the cloud, he'll try to cast something to force me back in. If I move too far, I'm in his melee range. The sword will do more damage, but the cloud is healing him and impossible to dodge. Better I'm in close than letting him recover._

He then threw out a **Blast of Cold** , but the Bard protected himself with a **Shield** and used **Virtue of Cunning** to slide closer. "How do you have so much damned magic?!" demanded the Wizard. _At least he's bloodied again_.

"You know Bards" replied Davlin "Jack of all trades, masters of none!" then threw an **Acid Arrow** , which again missed but the acid stuck and burnt enough to trigger **Stirring Shout** once again. Davlin clambered into melee range and readied to strike. _I'm so close…_

The acid continued to singe the wizard and the Bard received yet more healing. _Two can play that game_ …He then slid back and threw out the crimson plasma of a _Blood Pulse_ , which would damage Davlin further if he moved. _He's a decent Bard but a pitiful wizard. His acid has already lost its effectiveness._

 _If I can't move, maybe I can pull him in?_ thought Davlin, casting **Blunder** , but like most of his spells it just glanced off. Once again he braced himself for oncoming magic.

"Well played Bard, but now we end this. _THUNDERWAVE!"_ The blast launched Davlin back 11 squares triggering 11d6 damage. He was down and he wasn't getting up any time soon.

 **Notes**

After I left my last game group I was curious to see if a Heroic tier could beat a Paragon. The answer was no. At least not in a fair fight and full gear. The level bonus to defence alone made it near impossible (notice that Davlin misses a lot and nearly every hit was a **Natural 20** ). Naturally, Davlin had to cheat and even then he still lost.

I actually played out this combat and just as it ended I realized that an unlucky roll could have ended this for Davlin on the first turn. I seriously did not see the OP combo of **Blood Pulse** and **Thunderwave** until that final round. If you spend an action point to do them both in the same turn, that Wizard would have dealt 12d6+15 in a single turn. At Davlin's current stats, getting hit with that combo meant a 50% chance of instakilled, 75% of you play with the **Slay Outright** rules of **Coup de Grace** _._

Davlin's **Feats** at this point were; **Ritual Caster** (extra because bard), **Improved Majestic Word** (extra because human), **Multiclass Wizard** , **Multiclass Warlock** , **Multiclass Cleric**. Normally you can only take 1 **Multiclass Feat** in 4e but Bards have **Multiclass Versatility** which lifts that restriction. All these multiclass feats are why Davlin has such an absurd amount of healing and how he was able to cast **Eyebite** _._ I'd initially configured him differently but after we lost the Paladin of our group, Davlin by default became the party healer being the only one with healing powers.

In this configuration he had per encounter; 2 **Healing Word** _,_ 2 **Improved** **Majestic Word** _,_ 2 **Inspiring Word** , his usual **Second Wind** and could trigger extra saving throws via **Heal Check** , **Dissonant Strain** , and **Ode to Sacrifice** _._ Davlin heals over 150 points of damage in this encounter and went from the brink of death to fully healed within 2 turns.

I couldn't actually work out how XP gets divided up for PC/PC combat. Should he get anything from losing to a significantly more powerful PC? If you were a DM what would you award and why?

I'm not even sure how I'm going to do XP given that Davlin isn't going to follow normal encounter set up now that he's splitting himself from the PC's. Something to think about for a while.


End file.
